One of the most commonly given pieces of advice on the topic of logo design is that you should always start the project in black and white.

There are a number of reasons for this. For one, it keeps you from using color as a crutch and getting the lines and shapes perfect because there is nothing present to distract from them. Secondly, it means that in the myriad situations where your logo will be reproduced in black and white, it’ll look good because it was initially designed for that scenario.

Designers can then add color to their logos, whether that’s coloring the illustration, or applying the brand colors to the mark.

In this showcase, we look at 50 black and white logos that haven’t been colored. Next week, we’ll look at 50 exuberantly colorful logos, and see whether you, the reader, think one style or the other creates a mark with more impact and memorability — or if it just depends on the project and the mark itself.